Head coach Mike Hall knows exactly what he faces over the next two seasons.

"No question, we have to build two good hockey clubs," said Hall, whose Soo North Stars will soon be the host team in two major events.

Less than three months after Sault Ste. Marie was awarded the 2012 Central Region Midget Championships, it was announced Wednesday the city has won the right to play host to the 2013 TELUS Cup, Canada's National Midget Hockey Championships.

And, as the host team, the North Stars have an automatic berth in both events.

"Obviously, this is pretty exciting," said Hall, 47, the longtime head coach of the North Stars. "Both events are great opportunities for our kids. We'll be trying to build a real good team next year and the year after."

That building process actually began this past season.

Hall, whose North Stars have won seven of the last nine Great North Midget League regular season and playoff championships, iced his youngest unit ever during the 2010-2011 campaign.

The North Stars went with eight 15-year-olds - the most Hall has ever skated with - and just five 17-year-olds, who're now lost to graduation.

"We possibly could return 13 players," said Hall, whose team failed to win the league title, but boasted of a sterling, 23-10-1-0 regular season record. "We know it won't be that many, but 10-12 returning players is a good possibility."

Hall went with a young club a season ago believing the city's bid for the Central Region championships had a real good chance of being successful.

"It's the North's turn to host in 2012 and we knew nobody could compete with the Essar Centre facility and its (central) location in the city," Hall said. "But being chosen for the TELUS was very much a surprise."

The North Stars skipper said playing host to the Canadian championships wouldn't have been possible without the work of co-chairs George Parsons, the North Stars general manager, Mike Murphy, the events director for the Sault Major Hockey Association, SMHA president Adam Caughill, who chaired the TELUS bid committee, Steve Hollingshead of Tourism Sault Ste. Marie and Marc Capancioni of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC).

"The presentation they put together was excellent," Hall said.

"We're thrilled to be able to compete at such a high level in front of our hometown fans," Parsons said in a prepared statement. "The history of our organization speaks for itself and we'll represent our city to the best of our ability."

The TELUS Cup, formerly known as the Air Canada Cup, features six teams - the host squad and clubs representing five regions of the country.

The North Stars have been to the national championships twice in the past decade.

In 2003, the Sault played host to the tournament and in 2007, the North Stars advanced to Red Deer, Alta., as the Central Region (Ontario) champions.

"The proven track record of the North Stars went a long way in our successful bid," Caughill said. "Our overall vision. . . is to go above and beyond and put on the best TELUS Cup possible."

"Our city's reputation definitely played a key role in the bid process," Murphy added. "The Sault is a hockey town and bringing the event here, for both the local fans and the North Stars, was our primary objective."